


Happy Birthday, Ner Kar'ta

by gothicsprinkles



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Corin deserves happiness, Corin is babie, Din and Corin are disasters, Din is babie, Fluff, Found Family, Galactic dads, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Lady Irina is my god, M/M, Mando husbands, Mandorin is my entire life, More Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, These idiots share one braincell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:28:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothicsprinkles/pseuds/gothicsprinkles
Summary: “Those Empire birthdays probably don’t hold a candle to this one, huh?”“Oh, I mean, I guess not? I wouldn’t really know, I’ve never really had a birthday party.”“What?”~~~~~Corin Djarin, nee Valentis, has never really had a birthday party. Ever. Din can't believe this. If there's anyone who deserves to blow out candles on a cake, drown in presents, and beat candy out of a stuffed Bantha, it's Corin. With help from his friends and his son, and more than a few mishaps along the way, Din sets out to make Corin's birthday a day he'll never forget.
Relationships: Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret) & Din Djarin & Grogu | Baby Yoda, Corin the Stormtrooper (Rescue and Regret)/Din Djarin, Din Djarin/Corin Valentis, Paz/Raga, Zev/Leo
Comments: 20
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Hidden and Revealed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23599798) by [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina). 



The Mandalorian watched, equal parts fascinated and disgusted, as the person sitting across from him at the table shoveled blue birthday cake into his mouth faster than what he’d deemed humanly possible. His own slice sat in front of him untouched, waiting to be taken to the privacy of his room at the Covert before he could allow himself to indulge. Around him, his fellow Mandalorians chatted amiably as Foundlings ran after each other. He could hear Barthor in the distance seemingly trying and failing to get the Foundlings to do something quiet instead of running around. The little ones were play fighting with their wooden swords and blasters, all fueled by too much sugar and giddy from the excitement of the birthday party. Chuckling to himself, he wondered where their _ad’ika_ was. He hadn’t seen the little green bean in the horde of mini warriors. Knowing his son, he was probably trying to sneak another slice of cake.

The feeling of something bumping gently against his knee under the small table brought him back to the moment. He blinked a little as his eyes refocused.

“What’s so funny?”

Corin accentuated his question with a slight grin, his piercing blue eyes holding an amused curiosity to them. He’d finally finished demolishing his slice of cake and put down the fork on the plate that had more or less been scraped clean. Although, being the messy eater he was, there was more cake on his face than the plate. A tiny smear of blue frosting was stuck to the upper corner of Corin’s mouth, small enough to only be noticeable up close. When he received no answer immediately, Corin tilted his head quizzically ever so slightly to the right.

Not for the first time, Din found himself supremely grateful that his helmet was in place to conceal his dopey smile.

Reaching a gloved hand out across the table, Din gently cupped the side of Corin’s face and swiped his thumb over the speck of frosting. His _riduur_ closed his eyes and leaned into his palm as Din held his face for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. The Mandalorian could feel the warmth of the ex-trooper’s skin through his glove, making him wish the barrier between them did not exist.

“Barthor said the other Foundlings wanted our little womp rat to stay with them for a sleepover today”, Din deflected the question and changed the subject in a practiced maneuver, withdrawing his hand and bringing it back to rest on top of the table. He let his gaze wander around the room, looking for any sign of two huge green ears among all the Mandalorian legs. He felt tentative fingers brush his hand and Din turned back to look at Corin shyly staring at the table, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. After all this time he was still unsure, still hesitant. It was so aggravating to Din, yet so endearing.

“I don’t see why not”, Corin murmured. “We haven’t had any alone time in a while…” Corin’s blush deepened as the words left his mouth. Din wanted to laugh; strictly speaking, this was not true. Paz had taken the kid for the night only a few days ago, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t think that had been a lifetime away. Firmly intertwining his hand in Corin’s, Din was about to suggest they leave the party when he felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder with a resounding thud, jostling him and nearly knocking him out of his seat.

 _“Di’kut! Su cuy’gar!_ ”

Din grunted, displeased at being interrupted. Trust Paz to ruin the moment.

The larger Mandalorian swayed slightly on his feet, still gripping his _vod_ ’s shoulder to maintain some sort of balance. He was clearly drunk. Din internally cursed the rest of the Covert for bringing out the good wine. The least they could have done was keep it somewhere where Paz couldn’t get a hold of it.

In his peripheral vision, Din made out Raga’s figure a couple of feet away, arms folded across her chest in a vaguely amused expression from watching her _riduur_ annoy their friends. Or at any rate, annoy their brother. Din was pissed, but Corin seemed to be happy enough to see Paz, grinning up at him while still holding Din’s hand.

“So how’re you finding your first Mandalorian birthday party?” Paz asked Corin, his voice just a little too loud. Stifling a laugh at being half-shouted at, Corin replied, “It’s actually different than I imagined. Not as much brawling as I’d expected, but not half bad. Love this cake!” He held up Din’s plate in a mock toast, only for Paz to promptly snatch it away.

“Hey!” Din started angrily, getting up and knocking his chair over in the process. He tried to wrestle Paz’s arm down but the bigger warrior held him off with comical ease, holding the plate high up out of Din’s reach while using his other arm to keep him away. Letting out a sound of frustration, Din turned over to where he knew Raga was standing and watching. But one look at the female and Din knew he was on his own. She hadn’t moved from her original position except to rest against the wall, clearly enjoying the show.

Din was about to use his flame thrower when he heard the sound of stifled giggles to his side. He shot Corin a withering look, pretty sure that his expression was readable even through the transparisteel. _Whose side are you on?_

“Yeah”, Paz drawled while Din glared at his partner, “Those Empire birthdays probably didn’t hold a candle to this one, huh?”

“Oh, I mean, I guess not? I wouldn’t really know, I’ve never really had a birthday party.”

 _“What?_ ”

A clatter and a splat followed the shocked outburst. Paz had dropped the cake on the floor, where it now lay in a mess of blue frosting and crumbs. Din didn’t seem to be paying attention to this though, he was staring at Corin with shock written all over his beskar. Corin only looked back at the two Mandalorians in surprise, wondering why his words had prompted such an outburst.

“You’ve… never had a birthday party?”

Looking a tad uncomfortable at Paz’s tone, Corin admitted, “Well, no? It wasn’t really a thing when I was a trooper, and my family didn’t exactly encourage it.” He shrugged.

A moment of silence followed. Din felt his chest tighten at Corin’s matter-of-fact statement. The way he’d said it. Like it was just how things were, and he’d accepted that. Like it was no big deal that he hadn’t got to blow out candles on a cake and make a wish every year as a child. Beside him, he felt Paz tense up and take a breath to say something. Probably something about how it was unfair that anyone should have been deprived of those childhood memories. Din knew that Corin wouldn’t want to hear it though, and was supremely grateful when he heard Raga clear her throat behind them.

“Alright, Paz, let’s give the lovebirds some time to themselves. It’s bed time for you anyway”, she intoned, the suggestiveness in her words effectively steering Paz’s mind in a completely different direction. Snapping his head towards her, he barely waved goodbye to them before following Raga out of the room like an excited puppy.

That left Corin and Din by themselves. Din was still on his feet, watching Corin as he stared at a spot on the worn wooden table, absently rubbing it with the tip of his finger. Din let out a small sigh. Corin was clearly a little hurt, and a little confused, but he didn’t think this was the best time to address it. Closing the distance between them in a few steps, he gently tilted Corin’s face upwards to face him. “You okay?” Corin smiled unconvincingly. “I’m fine”, he said, prompting Din to let out a small sigh. “Let’s go. I’m tired”, he offered, pulling Corin to his feet. “Besides”, he said, gesturing to the little green figure who had emerged from the crowd in Barthor’s arms, covered in blue frosting, “ _Adi’ka_ is in good hands for tonight.” Rolling his eyes, Corin eased Din’s helmet into a gentle _kov’nyn_. “Real subtle, Din”, he said with a chuckle, leading them both out of the room.

~~~~~

As they lay in their bed in their room at the Covert, Corin’s head resting on Din’s chest and Din’s hand rubbing soothing circles on Corin’s back, Din’s thoughts drifted back to the conversation at the party earlier that evening. He’d tried to ignore it, but something always nagged at the back of his mind.

“ _Cyare_?” Corin piped up.

“Yeah?”

“When’s your birthday?”

Din’s hands continued to draw circles on Corin’s skin as he pondered the question. It didn’t really surprise him that they didn’t know this little piece of information about each other. He supposed it hadn’t really occurred to either of them before, seeing as they hadn’t had a chance to settle down and think about such trivial things. Too much bounty hunting and running for their lives.

“It’s three months away.”

“Oh.”

They lay in silence for a couple more minutes before Din asked, “What about yours?”

Corin was quiet for so long that Din thought his husband had fallen asleep.

“Corin?” he whispered.

“Um, it’s actually in a week.”

Din’s hands stilled in the middle of Corin’s back at that. _Dank farrik, Corin_ , he thought. _Only you would not say anything at all about your kriffing birthday until it was literally a week before_.

He couldn’t take it anymore. Gently shifting Corin’s head off of his chest, Din propped himself up on his elbow and stared down at his _riduur_. He ran a hand through Corin’s hair, trying to assess the emotion in his eyes. Corin refused to make eye contact with Din, choosing instead to look straight ahead, fingers doodling a phrase in Mando’a that Din recognized: _ner kar’ta_.

“When I was little, I remember my mother took me out on my birthday. We went to the market for the first time.” Corin started. His voice was so quiet he was almost whispering. “I remember it was so colorful. Everything was so pretty.” He stopped to take a shuddering breath, and Din continued to gently comb his hair through his fingers, trying to ease the tension he so clearly felt.

“On that day, one of the vendors managed to get some Meiloorun fruit for the first time. We were so excited, we bought a whole crateful and took it home. When we got back, my father was waiting for us. He… wasn’t happy. He said that birthday treats weren’t for any son of his. That if I wanted good things I would have to earn them at the Academy. And then he threw out the entire Meiloorun crate.”

Din lay frozen for a solid minute, not wanting to move and betray the anger that was coursing through his body. He knew Macero Valentis was a real piece of work; the more he learned about Corin’s childhood the more his belief was confirmed. Honestly, it shouldn’t have surprised him. But it broke his heart to hear the hurt in his _cyar’ika’s_ voice. There were so many things Din wanted to say. Mostly along the lines of how it was a good thing that Macero was dead because Din would’ve hunted him down and fed him to a Sarlacc. But he also wanted to tell Corin that he deserved the galaxy and more. That love wasn’t something to be earned. That he would always be loved no matter what.

Before he could think about how to say any of that though, Corin mumbled, “We’re going to throw _ad’ika_ the best party ever when his birthday comes around. He deserves it”, his voice thick with sleep. Settling down comfortably, Din let Corin place his head on his chest again, taking his right hand and placing a gentle kiss to his knuckles. He wondered how to tell Corin that the child in him deserved that too.

 _Or maybe_ , he thought as he drifted to sleep, a plan already forming in his mind, _I'll just have to show him._

~~~~~~~~~~

Mando'a Translations:

Ad'ika - Child

Riduur - Partner, spouse

Cyare - Beloved

Cyar'ika - Beloved

Ner kar'ta - My heart

Kov'nyn - Keldabe kiss

Di'kut - Idiot

Su cuy'gar - Hey, hello

Vod - Sibling, brother


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’s Corin’s birthday in three days.”
> 
> “Really!?”
> 
> Leave-It’s excitement was palpable. His eyes lit up as he looked at Din, exclaiming in a shrill voice that made his ears hurt, “Why didn’t he tell us this before?”
> 
> “I don’t know, but I swear if you go tell him about this, I will have Mose sit on you."
> 
> ____________________
> 
> In which Din turns to some friends to help plan Corin's birthday bash, but things aren't going the way he expected.

The Razor Crest glided smoothly through the blackness of space, casually dodging the occasional rogue asteroid as it sped towards the warm orange planet in the distance. It was quiet inside the ship, except for the occasional clanging noise followed by a child’s giggle and an exasperated, yet affectionate, sigh. 

“If you break that, Liita’s going to teach you how to fix it.”

Huge brown eyes, alight with mischief, turned towards the sound of the voice.

Din stood in front of his son, an expression of mock disapproval emanating through his beskar helmet. When he’d told his _ad’ika_ to go play with something else that wasn’t heavy, metallic, and otherwise not meant for little hands, he hadn’t meant the Razor Crest’s controls in the cockpit. He’d managed to catch the kid before he meddled with any of them. A little green hand was still extended towards the hyperdrive lever though, which was already in delicate condition owing to someone -cough, Corin, cough- panicking and almost wrenching it off the control panel when Din was teaching them the basics of lightspeed.

Locking eyes with the child through his t-visor, Din folded his arms and continued to watch. He could practically see the gears in his son’s head spinning, trying to gauge whether or not he wanted to push his _buir’s_ buttons today. 

“Remember, there’s jogan tart for dessert.”

The child tilted his head a little to the side and Din could’ve sworn he saw a smirk cross his face as if to say, _You would give it to me either way, dad._

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

After another second of deliberation, the child withdrew his hand with a playful roll of his eyes and hopped down to the pilot’s seat. Nestling himself comfortably in his father’s usual place, the little womp rat leaned backwards and settled down to stare at the stars that floated past, a hobby that never failed to enrapture him. Taking one last look at the pinpricks of light reflected in the huge eyes, Din quietly turned and left the cockpit.

“He get up to any trouble?”

Corin didn’t look up from the blaster he was cleaning as Din climbed down the ladder down in to the hold. “Surprisingly, no”, Din replied, a hint of amusement coloring his voice. “I may or may not have coerced him with that jogan tart Omera gave us.”

Chuckling, the ex-trooper mused, “Well I know that would definitely work on me. That tart is simply to die for.”

Din snorted. “You say that about all of her cooking. And everything else you eat. You’d probably say that if the kid brought you some boiled rations.”

His _riduur_ looked offended. “Look, it’s the thought that counts, okay?” he sniffed, making Din grin and let out a low chuckle. Taking his pulse rifle over from where it leant against the wall, he picked up the polish rag from where he'd dropped it next to Corin and started wiping down the muzzle.

They sat together in companionable silence for the next few minutes, the low thrum of the engines and Corin’s humming being the only sounds surrounding them.

“Remind me why we’re going to see Zev and the others again?” Corin’s quiet question caught Din off guard. 

“Um, well…” Din scrambled to come up with an answer. “It’s just been a while, I thought it would be good for the kid and Junior to see each other again?” He kept his visor trained on the same spot he’d been rubbing for the past five minutes, feeling Corin lift his head and give him a quizzical look.

“Din, we were there last week.”

Ah kriff, that was right.

“Yeah, but you know how kids are. Zev was telling me Junior’s been a little mopey lately so…” Even as the words left his mouth Din could tell that Corin didn’t believe him. He heard the sound of his partner setting down the blaster and edging a little closer towards him where he was sitting cross legged on the ship’s floor.

“Din”, Corin sounded just a little worried, “Is everything okay? Why are we really going?”

The Mandalorian hesitated for a split second, not wanting to tell Corin the truth. He let out a huff of breath before saying, “Okay, fine. Zev told me that Mose looked like he missed you. So I said I’d bring you as a surprise.”

He looked up, meeting Corin’s blue eyes, mentally crossing his fingers and hoping his little white lie would hold up.

Corin blinked once before letting a grin stretch across his face. “Ha! I knew my friendship bracelet worked on him!” 

Letting out a tiny sigh of relief, Din put down his rifle and got to his feet, intending to go back up to the cockpit and prepare for landing. “Yeah, you really warmed his Hutt heart with that”, he said teasingly, laughing as Corin stuck his tongue out adorably.

“Oh shut up, you’re just jealous you didn’t get one.”

“Not at all! In fact, I think you should be making more of an effort.”

“Really? And how so?”

“Well”, Din said, mischievous expression hidden by his helmet as he reached the ladder that led up to the cockpit, “You could always get drunk and smother him again.”

Corin’s polishing rag sailed harmlessly over Din’s head.

\---------------------------------------------

The Razor Crest landed about an hour later in front of the castle’s entrance, where Zev and Mose were waiting to receive Din and his _aliit_. As soon as the clan of three disembarked from the ship, Junior poked her head out of the Hutt’s pouch, an excited cheep sounding from her mouth as she saw her little green playmate riding on Corin’s shoulders, clutching his dad’s black locks. The child responded with delighted babbles, clearly demanding to be set down so he could greet his friend. Smiling indulgently, Corin obliged, gently lifting his son off of his shoulders and placing him down to where Junior had crawled out of Mose’s pouch. The two immediately started jabbering to each other in that language that only toddlers knew. After a moment of rapid fire conversation while the adults looked on affectionately, Junior and the kid tottered off inside the castle, presumably to continue their last coloring session.

“Little beans”, Corin said fondly to himself. Then he straightened up and looked up at Mose with a smug expression on his face. “Big bean!” he exclaimed, spreading his arms wide and gesturing for a hug. “I missed you!”

The Hutt’s eyes widened in horror as Corin promptly wrapped his arms around his middle, clinging on with the resilience of an Orbalisk. His expression clearly said _No, not again!_ Looking around desperately, Mose hissed to Zev, “Help me!” but the twi’lek was only barely stifling her laughter. Din was grinning underneath his helmet too, but managed to be a little more restrained than Zev. Mose shot her a death glare but Zev merely said, “Well, isn’t this wholesome. Hey Mose, why don’t you go show your best friend the changes we’ve made to the upper floor?”

“What changes? They were here a week ago!” Mose spluttered, clearly desperate to get out of this situation. Corin meanwhile, held on despite Mose’s attempts to pry him off. Feeling just a little guilty for what he was about to say, Din said, “I’m sure you and Corin could use some quality time together while Zev and I talk business. Right, Corin?”

“B-but-” Mose’s protests were cut off when he saw the meaningful look on Zev’sonya’s face. The fact that Corin’s eyes lit up with excitement while he tried to futilely drag him off probably didn’t help either. 

Patting Mose reassuringly on the arm, Zev led the way to another room. Din followed sheepishly, giving Mose an apologetic expression that was hopefully conveyed even though he was wearing his helmet. Leaving Mose grumbling, they stepped in to the other room and shut the door behind them, only to notice Leave-It sitting on the floor, eating a blue cookie and scrolling through a datapad, crumbs decorating his face.

The former Stormtrooper glanced up as they neared him. “Oh hey, you guys are finally here!” A spray of cookie crumbs exited the blonde’s mouth, causing Din to shake his head and grimace at the lack of etiquette that all ex-troopers, his own included, seemed to have a knack for. Zev, however, seemed entirely used to this by now, her only reaction being an exasperated eye roll and aiming a light smack to the top of Leave-It’s head as she passed him. 

“Close your mouth, you kriffing Bantha. Don’t be such a slob.”

Leave-It dodged Zev’s hand effortlessly, dropping the datapad and expertly grabbing her wrist before it could make contact with his head. 

“I might be a slob, but I’m _your_ slob”, he said cheekily, waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Zev.

Din sighed and took a seat, fully expecting the twi’lek to turn the tables and twist Leave-It’s arm until he begged for mercy. He really never learned. _Well_ , Din thought, kicking his feet up on the table, _at least he doesn’t give up._

To the Mandalorian’s surprise though, Zev merely smiled coyly and wormed her hand out of his grasp, saying flippantly, “You know I only keep you around for entertainment value.”

Leave-It scoffed knowingly. “Oh yeah? I can think of a couple of other things you keep me around for, can’t you?”

Din could have sworn that on a regular day, Zev would have casually thrown her vibro-blade at Leave-It for that. This time though, Din could hardly believe his eyes. Was she.... blushing?

Huh. Maybe they had been away for longer than he thought. 

He cleared his throat loudly, signaling to the pair that he was in the room too. “Can we get to business?”

Shooting Leave-It one last suggestive glance, Zev strolled over to the open window sill and hauled herself up to perch on the edge. Leave-It resumed his position on the ground, datapad lying forgotten on the floor as he shoved the last bit of cookie in to his mouth.

“Sooooooo…” 

Din glanced up at the twi’lek. She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at him. Leave-It was sitting cross legged on the floor, gazing up at Zev’sonya with puppy eyes that were having zero effect on her. Knowing Leave-It, he was probably trying to do his best to wheedle an extra cookie out of her.

“What was it you wanted to ask me that was so important you came all the way here for it?” Zev wasn’t beating around the bush. 

“I need you to get me something.”

Zev raised an eyebrow. “Something? You could have just sent me a message for whatever it was. Unless...”, she mused, “This particular ‘something’ isn’t just parts for the Crest or supplies for the Covert.”

Din said nothing, unsure of how to broach the subject.

“It’s…” he started, before sighing and deciding to just get it over with. “It’s Corin’s birthday in three days.”

“Really!?”

Leave-It’s excitement was palpable. His eyes lit up as he looked at Din, exclaiming in a shrill voice that made his ears hurt, “Why didn’t he tell us this before?”

“I don’t know, but I swear if you go tell him about this, I will have Mose sit on you”, Din threatened, immediately subduing the other man. 

Zev was smiling slightly, swinging her legs slightly. “Seriously though”, she said, “Why are we only hearing about this now?”

Din sighed again. “He doesn’t really want to make a big deal of it.”

All three of them nodded their heads, exasperated and understanding. Of course, it was Corin after all. The idiot could probably get shot and insist he was fine. Oh wait, that had actually happened before. More than once.

“Alright so, what do you need me to get for you? A camtono of the good spice? An Ewok plushie? Oh I know!”

Something about the expression on Zev’s face made Din want to crawl out of his beskar.

“One of my contacts on Akiva runs a little droid factory. You guys might be interested in some of the, er, newer versions he’s been coming up with. Mini droids with some very interesting functions. Guaranteed to be a lot of fun for both you and Corin, if you know what I mean.” 

Din stared at the twi’lek, unsure if he was hearing correctly.

Letting out an impatient sigh, Zev said, “In the bedroom-”

“OKAY, OKAY, I GET IT!” Din half-yelled. He was pretty sure he’d never been this mortified in his entire life. Not even the time Paz had stolen his underwear when he was a Foundling compared to this moment.

Leave-It, standing off to the side, looked like he didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or intrigued. Seemingly settling for some kind of middle ground, he schooled his features in to a neutral expression and said in a controlled voice, “Ah, Zev, maybe Din’s looking for something a little less, um, exciting.”

Looking disappointed, Zev muttered, “You mean boring.”

Din quickly decided that asking Zev for help had been a mistake and was about to turn tail and run out of the room when Leave-It asked, “Wait! Did you have something in mind?”

Letting out a big breath, he replied, “All I wanted was to ask Zev to get me a crate of Meiloorun fruit.”

Zev and Leave-It just stared.

“What?” Din snapped irritably.

“Well, no offence but… that’s not very special, is it? Doesn’t really scream ‘Happy Birthday, love of my life’”. 

Din frowned at Leave-It’s words. He was tempted to defend himself and share what Corin had told him a few nights ago, but something stopped him. Suddenly he wanted to keep that bit of information to himself. 

“Okay, fine. What were you guys thinking?” he asked in resignment, deciding he might as well take their advice since they were clearly more well versed in this whole birthday present thing.

Leave-It jumped up ecstatically, saying, “Nothing as weird as what Zev was thinking, but- Ow!” He dodged Zev’sonya's other pinch and came up to sit at the table, where he told Din his plan.

Din was silent. Zev however, had a thoughtful expression on her face. “You know, that’s actually not too bad, Blondie. Could use a few tweaks, few wrinkles to iron out, but overall, I think this could work.”

Leave-It smirked. “Yeah, yeah. More importantly, what do you think, Mando?” He turned towards Din.

“I…” he began uncertainly. “Isn’t that a little over the top?”

Snorting derisively, Zev said, “This isn’t some random gesture of appreciation, it’s his birthday. We’re supposed to go all out.”

Din deliberated for a moment. “... I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Nope”, Leave-It and Zev said in unison.

Din groaned. “Ugh, fine then.”

Zev and Leave-It whooped and high fived each other. “Great! No time to lose, let’s get started!” Zev enthused and practically skipped out of the room, Leave-it hot on her heels.

Din stood in the middle of the room, a mild sinking sensation in his stomach as he said to no one in particular, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

\------------------------

Translations:

Ad'ika-Child

Buir-Parent

Riduur-Spouse, partner

Aliit-Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge THANK YOU to everyone who left a kudos on my first fanfiction, it made my day!
> 
> Please read, review, and share, and stay tuned for the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Kashyyyk is a lot… greener, than I imagined.” Raga snorted at Paz’s statement.
> 
> “Yeah, it’s almost like it’s a forest planet.”
> 
> A movement from the edge of the treeline caught Din’s eye and he whipped out his blaster a split second ahead of Raga and Paz. Training his eyes on the distant figure, he called out, “Come out with your arms raised.”  
> \-----------  
> Paz and Raga want to get in on the birthday surprise for Corin, but Din doesn't know if that'll work out. Mostly because he might kill Paz before then.

“Din? Din, come in.”

“He’s probably asleep you know.”

“Oh give me a break. He’s with Corin. They were probably up all night, and are probably still up now.”

The voices sounded somewhere from the left side of the bed, alternating between the buzzing of static, and went on for a good five minutes while steadily getting louder. The darkened room was otherwise peaceful, faint sunlight filtering through the translucent glass and dimly illuminating the interiors. A small table stood on the far end against the wall, next to a large bed. The unmistakable outline of a Mandalorian _buy’ce_ grew brighter with every passing second as the daylight got stronger. Next to the helmet lay a small comlink that buzzed and crackled intermittently. 

“Din, if you’re ignoring this, I would advise against it. Paz is cranky this morning.”

The sheets on the bed rustled. One of the two figures who lay on it vaguely moved, but did not get up.

“Din! Dank farrik, come in!”

With a groan, Din Djarin blearily opened his eyes and rolled over to reach blindly in the semi-darkness, his fingers searching for the comlink on the nightstand. A whisper of bedsheets next to him indicated that Corin was half awake. Din felt a strong arm wrap itself around his waist in a motion that, although familiar, never failed to make his heart stutter.

“Mmm, Din it’s early”, Corin protested, trying to pull his _riduur_ back down into the warmth of the bed. Truthfully, Din wanted nothing more than to catch a few more hours of alone time with Corin. But, he also knew from experience that Paz would only get more annoying the longer he was ignored. 

Running his fingers through Corin’s hair, the Mandalorian reached down to plant a kiss on his forehead and whispered, “Yes, and Paz is someone who doesn’t take a hint.” Eyes still closed, the ex-trooper smiled sleepily and murmured, “That’s true. What does he want?” Din sighed. “Maybe he’s dying. Hopefully.”

Plucking the comlink up off the nightstand, Din hissed into it, “This better be good.”

“What the hell took you so long?”

Din gritted his teeth and ground out, “I was just on my way to kill you. Now, What. Do. You. Want.”

The comlink buzzed as Paz’s miffed voice came through. “Did you not get the message I sent you? I sent one yesterday.”

Din sighed. “I haven’t had time to check the transceiver on the Crest yet.”

“Hmph. Got something better to do?”

_Yes,_ Din thought. _Corin._

“I swear, if you don’t tell me what this is about in two seconds, I will-”

He could hear Paz laughing on the other hand, and had to exercise a lot of restraint not to throw the comlink across the room.

“Relax, _or’dinii_. We’ve been sent on a major supply run for the Covert. Plus, the Armorer said you had a contact on Kashyyyk who could help us out. Naturally, we are letting you tag along.”

Din stared at the device in his hand. “That’s it? No one’s dying? No siege on the Covert?”

“Uh… Sadly, no.”

“You couldn’t tell me this later? This is why you had to wake me up at kriff o’clock?!” Din’s voice got steadily more annoyed as the last of his patience trickled out of him.

Paz didn’t even have the good grace to sound ashamed. “Well, I also have this R-4 unit that I think you’ll like-”

Before Din could tell Paz exactly where he thought he should stick the droid, a sound from his right reminded him that Corin was still half asleep, and Din was not exactly being quiet. 

“Sorry, _ner kar’ta_ , I’ll-”

Sitting up, Corin impatiently snatched the comlink from Din’s hand and spoke into it. “Go away, _di’kut_.”

Din grinned at the man on his right as Paz’s indignant spluttering, mixed with Raga’s muffled laughter, sounded through the comlink and then abruptly cut off as Corin switched the device off. Lightly tossing it to the other side of the bed, he snuggled closer to Din, pulling him back down and nestling his head into the crook of his neck. “ _Kaysh mirsh solus_ ”, he mumbled against Din’s skin.

Din couldn’t help but chuckle at the Mando’a that seemed to come effortlessly to Corin. Sure, he still had trouble with some of the more difficult vocabulary and the accent was a little off, but there was something very uniquely Corin about it. The lilt to certain words, the vowel sounds - Corin could have read an instruction manual in Mando’a and it would sound like poetry to Din’s ears.

“What’re you thinking about?”

Din blinked, realizing that he’d been smiling. Corin’s blue eyes had a curious look in them as he cocked an eyebrow. Din hoped he hadn’t been grinning like too much of an idiot.

Propping himself up on one elbow to look Corin in the face, Din gently ran his hand through his partner’s hair again, letting his fingers trace the contours of his nose, his cheek, his jaw.

“Nothing in particular”, he murmured quietly, “Just you.”

Right on cue, a soft blush dusted Corin’s skin as his eyes broke contact with Din’s and drifted down to where his hand rested on top of the other’s chest, right above his heart. 

_Mesh’la_ , Din thought. He sighed internally, wondering if Corin would ever be able to see himself through his riduur’s eyes.

Tilting Corin’s chin upwards, angling his face so that he was forced to make eye contact again, Din leaned in to capture his lips in a gentle kiss. The gesture elicited a hum of contentment from Corin, who responded enthusiastically, bringing his hands up to either side of Din’s face and holding him in place. They kissed for a while, blissfully unhurried and reveling in each other's presence.

When they finally broke apart, Din rested his forehead on Corin’s in a lingering _kov’nyn_ , unable to believe his good fortune at being able to have this with someone so perfect. “ _Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum_ ”, he whispered, eyes closed.

“I love you, _ner kar’ta_ ”, he heard the quiet reply. It made his chest ache.

Din opened his eyes to meet Corin’s. The usually bright blue irises were now gone, replaced by deep black full blown pupils. The tip of his tongue darted out to wet his lips, hands coming up to settle on Din’s shoulders.

Din’s mind blanked for a split second. Before he could form coherent thoughts, Corin hooked one knee over his hip and, in a practiced move, flipped their positions so Din landed with his back to the soft mattress and Corin on top of him.

Din’s breath hitched in his throat as Corin moved to straddle his hips, a sly grin spreading across his face. Torturously slow, he leaned down towards Din’s neck. Biting his lip to keep from whimpering, Din closed his eyes in anticipation.

“DIN!”

With a yelp, Corin slid off of Din and landed on the bed as a resounding banging sounded from the door of their bedroom. Jumping up in a panic, Din reached for his helmet and shoved it on his head, clutching the sheets around himself in the process.

“DIN I DON’T CARE IF YOU AND CORIN ARE BUTT NAKED IN THERE, I WILL DRAG YOU OUT TO THE CREST IF YOU’RE NOT OUT IN TEN MINUTES!”

With a final bang, Paz stomped away on the other side of the door. A beat of silence passed before Din felt the mattress slightly shaking underneath him. Turning his head slightly, he saw Corin sprawled out next to him, giggling helplessly. Din tried to join in, but failed. It was too painful.

“Well, at least he’s got great timing”, Corin said, laughs finally subsiding as he got to his feet and tilted Din’s helmet forward for one last _kov’nyn_ before heading in to the refresher, yawning and stretching as he went.

Din groaned in frustration and fell back on the bed with a huff. 

Someday, he really was going to kill Paz. Slowly. And painfully.

\---------------------------------

The dark green planet of Kashyyyk loomed ahead of them in the black abyss of space. The Razor Crest sped towards it silently, engines purring as Din flipped a couple controls and prepared to enter the atmosphere. He hoped his contact would be there to greet them as planned. Finding a landing space on the forest planet would be a trying task otherwise.

A grumbling sound behind him made him smile slightly under his helmet. Din kept his eyes focused on the control panel though, giving no indication that he’d heard anything.

“Spotchka in the hydropak? A little juvenile, even for you, don’t you think?” Paz groused as he sat down heavily in the passenger seat of the ship. “Well your vacc tube’s been wrecked, so joke’s on you.”

“I forgot you were allergic to krill. Honest mistake”, Din replied, barely suppressing the grin in his voice. Totally worth it.

Raga chose that time to make her appearance in the cockpit. _Good timing_ , thought Din. He could feel Paz being tempted to hit him.

“If you boys are done pranking each other, can we go over the plan again?” she asked drily.

The plan was simple enough. They were meeting Din’s contact on Kashyyyk, the Wookie chief Lohbarro. Once they acquainted themselves, the chief would give them a job, which on successful completion, would earn them the supplies the Armorer needed for the Covert. What exactly those supplies were, none of them knew. It was going to be an interesting mission.

“Strap yourselves in”, Din announced a few minutes later, “we’re landing.”

The coordinates Lohbarro had given Din led the Razor Crest to a relatively dry stretch of land bordering a large swamp. Surrounded by trees on all sides, it looked secure and out of sight, and most importantly, free of Jawas. Hoping the marshy looking soil was stable enough, the Mandalorian set the ship down.

All geared up, Din pressed the button on his vambrace that opened the ramp of the Razor Crest. The three Mandalorians waited for the ramp to touch down before hesitantly venturing out, senses on high alert and weapons ready.

“Kashyyyk is a lot… greener, than I imagined.” Raga snorted at Paz’s statement.

“Yeah, it’s almost like it’s a forest planet.”

A movement from the edge of the treeline caught Din’s eye and he whipped out his blaster a split second ahead of Raga and Paz. Training his eyes on the distant figure, he called out, “Come out with your arms raised.”

A throaty growl answered them, making Din lower his blaster and motioning for the others to do the same as a tall, hulking, vaguely humanoid shape emerged from the cover of the trees.

Din walked ahead of Paz and Raga, a smile in his voice as he greeted the figure.

“It’s been a while!” He said in Shyriiwook.

The Wookie was tall, covered from head to toe in smooth black fur, and walked with a slight limp that Din could have spotted anywhere. They carried a menacing looking crossbow on their back, a familiar looking blaster strapped to their chest. Their right eye was covered by a worn looking eyepatch.

“Djarin, your Shyriiwook is as terrible as ever. You sound like a Jawa!” Din could hear the amusement in Lohbarro’s voice as they replied in the same tongue, heartily slapped him on the back and nearly sending the ex-bounty hunter stumbling into the dirt.

Chuckling, Din gestured behind him where Paz and Raga were standing askance, clearly unable to understand the growls and roars of the Wookie language. “This is Paz, and Raga. They’re here with me for the supplies”, Din said in Basic for the benefit of his fellow Mandalorians, knowing that Lohbarro would have no trouble understanding.

Paz and Raga both nodded respectfully at Lohbarro, who acknowledged them with a grunt and slight inclination of their head.

“Let’s go. We’re not passing through the village, the others are already in position so we’re going to them”, they growled, beckoning for the Mandalorians to follow them as they made their way through the thick foliage.

“So, Djarin”, Lohbarro made amiable conversation as the group picked their way across the forest floor, “How is your little clan?”

Din couldn’t help a fond smile as he replied, “They’re good. The little one gets stronger every day.”

“And your partner?”

“He’s doing well. It’s actually his birthday the day after.”

“Wait, what?”

Ah, kriff. Din had forgotten that Paz was right behind them.

Rolling his eyes, he ignored Paz’s surprise and concentrated on what Lohbarro was saying to him. 

“Ah, and have you decided on your offering yet?” The Wookie asked, getting a sigh out of Din.

“Well… no. I’d wanted to get him a crate of Meiloorun fruit, but-”

Din was cut off by Paz’s loud snort from behind.

“Really? It’s his birthday and you’re getting him fruit? Wow, Din. I-”

Before the two could have a full on argument though, Lohbarro announced with a laugh, “We’ll have to continue this later, we’re here.”

The trees opened into a clearing, where a dozen or so adult Wookies stood around, tuning their crossbows and clearly on high alert as they scanned the treetops. 

Taking their crossbow and holding it in front of them, Lohbarro grunted at the Wookies, prompting them to start moving forward, deeper into the forest. Growling something in Shyriiwook to Din, the Wookie chief followed them.

“Translation?” Raga asked.

“Keep your eyes open, and try not to get eaten”, Din said uneasily.

“Great”, Paz grumbled as they joined the others.

\---------------------

Paz let out a low whistle as he saw the crateful of shimmering substance that Lohbarro had brought out on their return to the Wookie village. “Wow, so this is Kinrath silk. This stuff is supposed to be super strong. Don’t know why the Armorer wants it though”, he mused.

“I guess we’ll find out when we get back”, Raga said, grunting in frustration as she tried to scrape Slyyyg sludge off of her boot. 

“Well it was definitely worth almost dying in that stupid web of that Wee- Weesh-”

“Wyyyschokk”, Din said.

“Yeah, that giant spider thing.”

The three Mandalorians were taking a few minutes to tend to their injuries at the Wookie village before returning to the Razor Crest. Lohbarro and a few other Wookies sat with them, ready to guide them back to their ship.

Raga and Paz had sustained a few scrapes but nothing too serious. Din, on the other hand, had suffered a nasty cut to the side of his calf. It had finally stopped bleeding, but still looked pretty gruesome.

“You’re going to get an earful from your husband when you get home”, Lohbarro laughed in Shyriiwook, causing Din to smile ruefully. Corin would definitely chide Din for not looking after himself and being more careful, and would then insist he lay down as he proceeded to wash and dress the wound again, all the while grumbling about how reckless he was. The thought warmed Din’s heart.

“Have you thought about the offering?” Lohbarro grunted in a low voice.

Din shook his head. The Wookie chief appeared to think for a minute before calling out something to a passing Wookie, who returned in a few seconds with a large case made from what appeared to be leather, and handed it to them.

Opening it, they took out an ornate blade, broad and curved, with a hilt wrapped in smooth leather. They handed it to Din, who after a moment’s hesitation, took it and held it reverently in both hands.

Paz let out a low whistle.

“What is that?”

“It’s a Ryyk blade”, Din half whispered, mesmerized by the craftsmanship.

Lohbarro let out a series of low growls, leaving Din to translate for his siblings. 

“Ryyk blades are crafted only by Wookies, for Wookies. For a non-Wookie to be gifted one… it’s a great honor.”

Lohbarro gently touched their eyepatch and said something else in Shyriiwook.

“They haven’t forgotten Corin. It’s payment for the life debt they owe him”, Din translated. 

The Mandalorians and the Wookies sat in silence for a while as Din turned the blade over once again in his hands before packing it away carefully.

“Thank you”, Din said sincerely in Shyriiwook. Lohbarro nodded once and grunted.

Paz nudged Din’s shoulder and he translated, “He says hopefully this’ll inspire my gift.”

A moment of silence later, Raga cleared her throat and announced, “We should be on our way.”

Nodding, the three of them got to their feet followed by Lohbarro and two of his Wookies. They walked back to the ship in silence. Once the Razor Crest was in sight, Din gripped the Wookie chief’s arm one last time in gratitude.

“May all the forces be with you”, Lohbarro growled. 

Din nodded his assent, and then turned to follow his companions into his ship.

After carefully storing Lohbarro’s gift to Corin in the weapons storage, Din settled himself into the pilot’s seat and started up the Razor Crest. The ship lifted off smoothly and rose above the cover of the trees before gliding up and into the sky.

“You know”, Paz mused as the ship broke the Kashyyyk atmosphere, “You could probably get Corin something like that blade too. Maybe a pair of vambraces. I’m sure the Armorer would do it for you.”

Din sighed, “I’ve already given him the pauldron.”

“Oh come on, that was way too long ago. He could definitely do with some new pieces.”

Din was thoughtful for a few minutes. Before he could say anything though, Paz had jumped up with a triumphant, “I’ve got it!”

Tilting his head quizzically, Din asked, “Got what?”

“The perfect present for Corin!”

Din blinked. “Why… are you getting him something?”

He could hear the smirk in Paz’s voice. “And why not? He might be your riduur, but he’s my vod.”

Before Din could protest, Paz was already making his way to the hold, saying excitedly, “This is going to be the best surprise! Raga!”

Sighing, Din turned back to the controls and leaned back in the pilot’s seat. This entire thing for Corin’s birthday was getting a little bit out of hand. First Zev’sonya and Leave-It, now Paz and Raga. Who was next, Mose?

He just hoped Paz wouldn’t get anything too dangerous for Corin.

If he did though, he could always spike his hydropak with Spotchka again.

With that comforting thought, Din closed his eyes and dozed off as the Razor Crest sped home.

\--------

Translations:

Buy’ce - Helmet

Ord’inii - Moron

Ner kar’ta - My heart

Di’kut - Idiot

Kaysh mirsh solus - He’s an idiot (Literally, his braincell is lonely)

Mesh’la - Beautiful

Riduur - Husband, spouse, partner

Kov’nyn - Forehead touch/Keldabe Kiss

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum - I love you

Spotchka - A drink made from krill

Shyriiwook - Language of the Wookies

Kinrath - Arachnid native to Kashyyyk

Slyyg - Carnivorous Slug like creature

Wyyyschokk - Giant Spider Monster, ambushes prey by shooting webs

Vod - Sibling

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh FINALLY got this chapter up! Not long by any means, but the longest I've written so far. Did a lot of "research" in to Star Wars lore for this one, which continues to be fascinating. Now I want to live in a galaxy far, far, away. Oh well.
> 
> As always, please leave a kudos and review if you enjoy, all the comments make me happy! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and stay tuned for the next one, hopefully that'll be sometime this week!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Din said half heartedly, “Just… don’t tell your buir about this”, as Mose chuckled behind him, greatly amused.
> 
> “Come, murishani. We’re here”, the Hutt slithered past him and vanished behind a particularly large palm leaf that extended all the way down to the forest floor.
> 
> Din dithered for a moment on the spot, uncertainly shifting the blaster in his hand before holstering it with reluctance. Reaching out a hand, he cautiously shifted the leaf out of his way and stepped through.  
> \-------------  
> Corin's birthday is tomorrow, and Din is still no closer to finding him the perfect present. The last person he would think to ask is Mose, but the Hutt knows more than he lets on.

Din Djarin –Mandalorian, former bounty hunter, father to a green womp rat, and husband to the galaxy’s most beautiful idiot– was not happy. Despite his protests and threats, he’d been left behind in the castle while everyone else was having a grand old time taking Zev’sonya’s new ship out for a spin. The only one who’d remained behind was Mose the Hutt, who was currently looking for last night’s leftovers in the kitchen, judging from the sounds of clattering pots and pans not far off.

“I’m not going to test out my new ship with you constantly looking over my shoulder, nit-picking at every maneuver I make”, Zev had flat out denied him when he’d asked the twi’lek if he could tag along.

“Wha- I don’t do that!” 

Everyone in the vicinity, including Corin, had collectively snorted. 

Most of the other ex-stormtroopers had gone into the village to get supplies, with the exception of Leave-It. Obviously, Zev wanted her little boy-toy to be her “co-pilot” and the blonde had only been too happy to go wherever she dragged him. 

“Corin, you’re coming too”, Zev had called over her shoulder. 

Corin had looked confused while Din said indignantly, “Why him?”

“Because he’s pretty!”

Din had fumed. He couldn’t even argue with that.

Corin had given him a sympathetic look and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. Hopefully in one piece.” With a parting _kov’nyn_ , he’d followed the other two into the ship.

Din had watched them take off, resenting that he hadn’t been allowed to go. All because he was the best pilot. Huffily crossing his arms, he’d stalked off into the castle, determined to have some fun at least. He didn’t need them. He was going to have a blast with Mose and the kids.

And that was how the fierce Mandalorian found himself sitting on the floor of the room he shared with his _aliit_ , supervising a coloring competition of sorts between his son and his friend Junior. 

Din huffed, making the child look up from his drawing and twitch his ears questioningly as he stared at his _buir_ with huge brown eyes.

Gently flicking the tip of one big ear, Din said gently, “It’s not you, kid.” In an attempt to distract himself, he reached out a hand to the paper on the floor, asking, “Can I see what you got there?”

The child squeaked, clearly trying to say, “Wait!” He then started scribbling furiously again, his little nose almost touching the paper.

Din chuckled and sat back before feeling a soft pat on his forearm.

Turning his head, he saw Junior standing next to him, holding out her own paper with a little cheep.

Din took the paper and squinted at it through his t-visor. “It’s…” he said uncertainly. All he could see was a gray blob that looked like it had two spikes on either side. It also seemed to have legs?

Junior cheeped again and pointed to the window, prompting Din to peer outside. 

The space in front of the castle hideout was empty, except for a large ship that glinted silver in the sunlight.

“Oh.” Din said as he recognized the badly drawn Razor Crest on the paper Junior had given him. 

“A good likeness.”

Din turned around to see the massive form of Mose standing in the doorway, holding a bantha steak half his size in one hand and a tall jug of nerf milk in the other.

“Actually, I could have sworn it was you”, Din quipped, getting a deep chuckle out of the Hutt as he lowered himself to the floor and proceeded to down the steak in a single bite, following which he poured the entire jug of milk down his throat, his huge tongue darting out to lick his mouth and eyes landing on Din.

“What?” he rumbled.

Din belatedly realized he was staring. “Nothing”, he said hastily, focusing on the child’s drawing and thanking his helmet for hiding his gaping mouth.

He handed Junior’s drawing back to her and watched as she scurried off to get another sheet.

Din sat there, not really seeing whatever the kids were drawing. His mind was too preoccupied.

“You are troubled”, Mose’s deep voice sounded again.

Din didn’t turn to look at him this time. He knew Mose would be able to read his expression, even through the beskar. 

The Hutt didn’t push, however, and the two of them sat in silence for a while, watching their children color.

“It’s Corin’s birthday tomorrow”, Din said in a quiet voice, not taking his eyes off the child.

“Is it?” Mose mused.

“Yes. It’s… never really been a special day to him.”

“And you would like to change that.”

“I suppose so.”

Mose hummed thoughtfully. “I have heard it is human tradition to present each other with gifts on these days.”

“Well, yes?” Din wondered if Hutts had birthdays. Did Hutts even give birth? Didn’t they just sprout Huttlets? Would it be called a reproduction day? Sprouting day?

“You do not know what to give him.”

Din sighed. “No, I don’t. Zev and Leave-It have this entire celebration planned. Paz and Raga are getting him something special too. One of our other friends even gave him a new weapon. And I… have nothing.”

The silence overtook them again, only punctuated by the soft sounds of crayon against paper.

A minute later, the child chirped and held up his paper proudly to his father.

It was even sloppier than Junior’s drawing, if that were even possible. The colors were smudged and the lines looked like Porg scratchings, but Din had no trouble recognizing it.

It was the cabin from their time on the snow planet. Nestled in between two ridiculously small trees, the roof blanketed in snow, the cabin reminded Din of times spent curled up near the fireplace, regaling his family with Mandalorian folktales as they sipped hot chocolate and nibbled on blue cookies. It reminded him of days spent watching Corin and their child flit across the surface of the frozen lake as he watched fondly from the shore. It reminded him of nights curled up in bed with Corin, his warm arms around him as he rained soft kisses all over his skin between whispers of, “ _Ner kar’ta, ner kar’ta_ ”. 

“It’s beautiful, _ad’ika_ ”, Din murmured.

“Come. We’re leaving.”

Din blinked as Mose’s voice brought him back to the current scenario. Tearing his eyes away from the drawing he looked up at the Hutt who’d already risen up off the floor, Junior nestled in his pouch. 

“Uh, where are we going?” Din asked, picking the child up in his arms and following Mose as he led the way downstairs and to the Razor Crest.

“Out”, was the cryptic reply he got.

\-------------------------------

Brushing the massive palm leaf gently aside Din watched as the kid and Junior ran through the gap in his legs, chasing each other across the forest floor in a playful game of tag. The chirping and clicking of insects in the trees had Din on edge, making him keep one hand on his blaster as he listened to the children squealing in delight. He kept scanning the treetops for danger, trying to see past the huge leaves.

Mose on the other hand, who was slithering quietly behind him, seemed to be more at ease. At any rate, he didn’t have his blaster out ready to shoot the first thing that moved and looked like it could potentially eat him.

“Do you wanna tell me why we’re on Cosia?” he inquired. He’d recognized the coordinates that Mose had told him to punch into the Razor Crest’s nav computer, but the Hutt had offered no explanations as to why he’d chosen that particular planet.

Mose merely hummed in response, saying, “Visiting an old friend.”

That made Din look at him suspiciously. It had taken Corin ages to have Mose admit that they were friends, and Din had never known the Hutt to voluntarily call anyone else his friend. But here he was, saying they were on the way to actually visit someone he considered as such.

“Okay then”, Din sighed, realizing that was all he was going to get out of Mose for the time being. 

Mose chuckled again, which Din found mildly aggravating. Ignoring his companion, Din settled for taking stock of his surroundings.

For all his travels, Din had never set foot on Cosia. The Deep Core was a part of the galaxy he’d rarely seen during his time as a bounty hunter. All he knew about it was that it was a thinly populated region and not very well mapped, and was as a result, dangerous.

Then again, this particular forest planet didn’t look all that foreboding. The abundance of plant life reminded Din of the jungles of Sorgan, with the exception that the trees were a lot more densely packed and seemed to all be of a similar species; they all had the same huge palm leaves that blocked out parts of the sky. The little group weaved their way in between tree trunks as wide as buildings, the ground sloping upwards and downwards at intervals and giving Din the impression that they were navigating a hilly region. 

The clicking and chirping sounds grew louder with every step they took, almost sounding like the racket of birds. Confusingly enough, there were no birds that Din could see. He hoped whatever it was wouldn’t turn out to be some vicious predator. Another glance to his side showed him that Mose was still relaxed, though, so whatever was making those noises clearly didn’t bother him.

A squeal made Din start and he pointed his blaster in front of him, ready to incinerate whatever it was that was terrorizing the kids. 

All he saw though, was a large winged insect about the size of a Jawa flitting about the children’s heads. It was brightly colored, its big wings shining a brilliant pink and green despite the muted light of the evening. The green bean was making a valiant attempt to catch the insect, balancing precariously atop Junior’s head and swiping wildy at the air. 

A moment later his _adi’ka’s_ efforts were rewarded as a small jump off the top of Junior’s head helped the little one snatch the bug right out of the air, smushing it on the forest floor with a triumphant chirp. Getting to his little feet with a gurgle, the child held his prize tightly in both hands, showing off to his partner in crime before promptly shoving the unlucky critter in to his mouth.

“No! Spit that out!” Din said in a panic, darting forward too late. With a loud swallow, the child clapped his hands and looked at the Mandalorian with an expression of mischievous innocence in his huge brown eyes. 

He let out a tiny burp, giggled, and then scurried off with Junior.

Sighing in resignment, Din said half heartedly, “Just… don’t tell your _buir_ about this”, as Mose chuckled behind him, greatly amused.

“Come, _murishani_. We’re here”, the Hutt slithered past him and vanished behind a particularly large palm leaf that extended all the way down to the forest floor.

Din dithered for a moment on the spot, uncertainly shifting the blaster in his hand before holstering it with reluctance. Reaching out a hand, he cautiously shifted the leaf out of his way and stepped through.

Almost immediately, the chirping and trilling sounds grew tenfold as Din stepped in to what appeared to be a small village. His eyes widened as he stood stockstill, taking in the sights.

The treetops were dotted with lights that winked down on the bustling hamlet. The soft light illuminated several of the trees they’d seen on the way, and Din noted in awe that the wide trunks had been hollowed out and made in to living spaces. There were even wide windows which Din could see in to. Tilting his head back, he made out intricate bridges and stairways carved in to the branches, connecting tree to tree.

Most interesting of all to Din, were the inhabitants of the little settlement; weird little creatures, walking up in the branches, that appeared to be part goat, part reptile, and part… something else. Din could only assume they were native Cosians; he’d never encountered one in the flesh but he’d heard enough about them to recognize them. He could see that they had bright green scaly skin and bluish hair in tufts on their heads and ends of their tails, and walked with a hunched posture on two hind legs. As Din continued to survey the creatures, he came to the conclusion that the chirping and trilling that he had attributed to insects or avians were actually the sounds of the species’ spoken language.

A little cheep tore his attention away from his surroundings. His eyes landed on Mose and the kids who were beckoning him forward to a large turbolift built in to the side of one of the trees. Din caught up with them in a few strides and they bundled in to the lift, barely fitting in due to Mose’s sheer size. 

Slightly pressed up against the glass, Din tried to inconspicuously catch glimpses of the occupants of the trees as the lift smoothly sped upwards. He saw a couple of teenage Cosians lounging inside one room, staring at a holoprojector all blissed out, with what were obviously spice cigarras. In another, a Cosian with completely white hair and scales sat in deep meditation, levitating a couple of inches off of the floor. Children ran across the bridges and walkways, chittering excitedly and waving toys in the air.

“The Cosa trees have been the home of the Cosians for many years. Very wise creatures, Cosians. Interesting people”, Mose said in a low voice next to Din.

“Are they rare? I’ve never seen one anywhere else”, Din wondered aloud.

“They rarely ever leave their home world”, Mose answered, “but it is not unheard of for a Cosian to be found wandering the galaxy in curiosity.”

The turbolift came to a halt at a level about a couple hundred meters off the ground. Din scooped the kid up in his arms before they disembarked, ignoring the little one’s annoyed sounds. “I don’t want you falling off the branches”, Din said, making his son roll his eyes and settle in to the crook of his father’s arm with bad grace. Junior wormed her way in to Mose’s pouch without complaint, sticking her head out so she could see what was going on.

Din let Mose lead the way as he followed closely behind, keeping a wary eye out. The few Cosians who were milling about seemed to stop and look at the little group with interest, their bulbous orange eyes brimming with curiosity. Some regarded Mose with vague suspicion but showed no outward signs of fear, which honestly surprised Din. 

Even more surprising, the Hutt paused next to a Cosian who was carrying a basketful of colorful fruit and asked them in Basic, “Could you tell me where Jaro Razoka lives?” The Cosian smiled and pointed to their right, murmuring directions to Mose that Din didn’t quite catch, and went on their way.

“This way”, Mose said, and slithered in the direction of a small cluster of houses that jutted out slightly from the trunk of a nearby tree.

Mose made his way up to a large green door several feet shorter than him and leaned down to gently knock three times before taking a few steps back.

The door swung open almost immediately to reveal an elderly looking Cosian standing at the entrance. His scales were a pale green and his hair was starting to lighten considerably, the sky blue a sharp contrast to the midnight blue shade that the younger Cosians sported. His eyes blinked slowly upwards rather than downwards, the orange irises taking on a milky tinge.

The Cosian squinted up at Mose’s huge frame for a split second before realization dawned on him.

“Mose! What a surprise!” he exclaimed, a smile growing on his face.

Din was shocked to see the Hutt actually grinning back. “ _Achuta, pateesa_ ”, he said warmly in Huttese. 

_Woah. Mose just called him pateesa. Corin is going to be so jealous_ , Din thought.

“And who are your companions?” the Cosian turned to regard them genially.

“This is Din Djarin”, Mose gestured for Din to come forward so he complied, offering his hand which the Cosian shook energetically. Din inclined his helmet in acknowledgment.

“Din, this is an old friend of mine, Jaro Razoka”, Mose said.

“Good to meet you-” Din started but was interrupted by a gasp from Jaro.

Jaro’s eyes widened when he saw the kid held securely against the Mandalorian’s chest. His smile got impossibly bigger and he enthused, “And who is this?”

Din’s protective instincts kicked in and he reflexively moved to turn his body away from the Cosian to shield his son, but was stopped by a gleeful chirping from the kid. Din looked down to see the child holding his hands out eagerly and after a moment’s hesitation, he handed him to the elderly Cosian who welcomed him happily.

The little womp rat was usually a good judge of character, so Din forced himself to relax, shooting a glance at Mose just to make sure. He stepped back a little when Mose nodded in affirmation.

“The Force is strong with this one”, Jaro said in amazement, looking down at the child in his arms in wonder and gently stroking one large ear. 

“Wha- How did you-” Din said, a little stunned. Jaro merely said, “Little ones are such a gift. Such curiosity, many thoughts in their little heads, isn’t that right, child?” He tickled the kid playfully, eliciting a giggle that seemed to fill the Cosian with pure joy. 

Motioning to be put down, the little rugrat ran over to Mose and squeaked loudly. A second later, Junior stuck her head out of the pouch, peering down at her little friend. A brief exchange of cheeps later, she was persuaded to come out and meet Jaro, who got even more excited at the appearance of the little Huttlet. 

Din watched, amused, as Jaro did an excited little jig on the spot, clearly just as delighted as the children. If Din had to guess, Jaro was definitely the equivalent of more than sixty human years old, but acted like he wasn’t a day over twenty. He wondered if that was a trait common to all Cosians.

“What a lovely surprise this is! What brings you here, Mose?” Jaro asked in a thrilled voice. 

“My friend here needed some guidance. He needs to clear his mind, in a sense”, Mose gestured to Din with a faint smirk.

Clapping his forelimbs excitedly, Jaro declared eagerly, “Well, he came to the right place, and not a moment too soon! Come, it’s almost time!”

Din blinked, confused, “Time for what?”

“The party, of course!” With a final chuckle Jaro led the way back to the turbolift, carrying a child in either arm.

Din looked at Mose. “Hey, did you call me your friend?”

Mose snorted and brushed past, nearly knocking Din off the broad branch.

“You can’t take it back!” Din called after him.

\--------------------

Din leant with his back against the tree trunk, stretching his legs and relaxing as he took in the scene in front of him. All the Cosians in the village had gathered on a huge wooden platform for the occasion, built in to the canopy of the Cosa trees, and were now laughing and talking amongst themselves as the children, Din’s own kid among them, ran around sipping jogan juice and stuffing their faces with treats. It was the second birthday party he’d been to in the span of little over a week.

Cosian birthday parties were a little different from others that Din had gone to, although that wasn’t saying much. 

“You look thoughtful.”

Din glanced up to see Jaro standing over him, a smile on his face.

“Oh, um, I think Mose went over to get some-”

“I am not looking for Mose, I came to talk to you”, Jaro interrupted him, a glint in his eye as he plopped down next to Din.

“Uh, okay?” Din scooted slightly away from the Cosian.

“What were you thinking?” Jaro asked, his wide orange eyes unsettling Din ever so slightly.

“I…” Din started, unsure of what to say. “What kind of presents do your kind usually give each other?”

Jaro laughed a little as Din blurted out the question. “Presents? We do not have such traditions, I suppose.”

Din looked confused, which clearly Jaro could tell. He continued, “Material possessions are insignificant to Cosians. This is an occasion to celebrate new life and the potential for new knowledge and wisdom. What do you wish to achieve with presents?”

Din sighed. Yes, he knew he didn’t have to actually get Corin anything tomorrow. But all this talk of celebrating him for his knowledge and wisdom didn’t really convince him.

“It’s just a special day for him”, Din said half to himself.

A beat of silence passed between them before Jaro broke it again with, “Do you know how Mose and I met?”

A little startled, Din shook his head, “No.”

“It was many years ago. We were both young. I had left my home and my family because I wanted to see what was out there in the galaxy. I wanted to give my family a better life, promised to bring them the wonders the galaxy had to offer. Got myself in to a lot of trouble for it and found myself in a really tight spot. Mose saved my life.”

The two of them sat against the tree, watching a tiny little Cosian toddler chirping in delight as his father tossed him lightly in the air and caught him.

“That made me realize something. My family did not care about the riches I could bring home. They didn’t care about fancy Onderon silk, or Icindric caviar, or Nova crystals. They only cared about when I would come home. They needed me to come home, so I could be with them, see them grow up, make memories with them. They needed me to love them”, Jaro said softly. 

Din sat there for a while, mulling over Jaro’s words when a little coo made him look down. 

His _ad’ika_ was standing in front of him, carrying two fruits that were comically big in his arms. Din took them from his son, recognizing them as Meiloorun fruits, as the little green bean climbed in to Din’s lap. The child held out a tiny clawed hand for one of the fruits and settled down comfortably once Din had handed it to him. He bit in to it with gusto, the juice dribbling down his chin as he made little sounds of contentment. 

Jaro chuckled fondly at the sight, watching Din use the corner of his cloak to wipe the sticky juice off of the kid’s face.

Taking a pause to sip his drink, he continued, “It does not matter how rare or shiny it is, or how many credits you spend on it. The most precious thing you could give your loved one would be something that reminds him of how much he is loved.”

Din watched as Jaro got to his feet and, with a parting smile, mingled with the rest of the crowd. The Mandalorian sat there for a while with his son in his lap, idly watching the partygoers and thinking about the next day. 

The child had finished the fruit and was now absently sucking on the seed, gazing up at Din with his huge eyes. 

“Yeah, kid, tomorrow’s a big day”, Din said, knowing the child understood every word he said. 

Scooping the child up in to his arms, Din stood up and started looking for Mose, deciding that it was high time they got back to the hideout. 

“I hope you’re not too tired”, he said to the kid, “I have a little job for you when we get back…”

\---------------

According to the chronometer on the little night stand next to the bed, it was very early in the morning when Din snuck back in to the bedroom, a snoozing child wrapped up in his cloak. He gingerly closed the door behind him, wincing when it creaked slightly and shooting a furtive glance to the bed, where a figure lay sleeping.

Din let out a tiny sigh of relief when the person didn’t move. He then quietly padded over to the small wooden crib at the end of the bed and gently lay the child down inside, tucking the blankets around him before beginning his own nightly routine.

He took off the pieces of his armor one by one, taking care to lay them down quietly so as to not wake up the rest of the Djarin clan. Once that was done he finally removed his helmet, placed it in its spot on the nightstand, and crawled in to bed.

“Din?”

The Mandalorian felt the mattress shift under him as the other occupant of the bed stirred awake, turning to face him. He felt a familiar hand reaching out blindly in the darkness and reached his own hand out to thread their fingers together.

The gesture elicited a small sigh from the other side of the bed.

“Go to sleep, _cyar’ika_ . Everything’s okay”, Din reassured his _riduur_ , settling in to the covers and pulling Corin against his chest.

Corin came willingly, still half asleep but coherent. “Where were you? Mose came back a while ago”, he asked sleepily.

“I was… teaching the kid a little something.”

Din could feel Corin smiling as he mumbled against his chest, “Hm? Like what, how to make us breakfast in bed?”

Din laughed quietly. “Yeah, something like that.”

Pressing a kiss to Din’s skin, Corin wrapped his arms around his chest and said, “In that case, I look forward to waking up tomorrow.”

Even though he was a little nervous, Din grinned at that. “Me too, _cyare_. Me too.”

“Mmm okay, good night. I love you”, Corin sighed. A minute later, Din could tell by the change in his breathing that he was fast asleep.

“ _Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum_ , Corin”, Din whispered, pressing one last kiss to his forehead before he let himself drift off in to unconsciousness.

\---------------

**Translations** :

/ **Mandoa** /

Kov'nyn - Keldabe kiss, forehead touch

Riduur - Partner, spouse

Cyar'ika, cyare - Beloved

Ad'ika - Child

Ner kar'ta - My heart

Buir - Parent

Aliit - Family

Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum - I love you

/ **Huttese** /

Murishani - Bounty Hunter

Achuta - Hello

Pateesa - Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to one of my best friends who passed away this week. Words cannot describe how much I miss her every day. Kitty, I hope you're at peace now.  
> \----  
> I hope to post the final chapter by the end of next week, or sooner. Thanks to everyone who read, commented, and left a kudos! You guys are amazing!

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray in to the world of fanfiction writing, and what better way to do it than to start with my two favorite oblivious idiots in love. 
> 
> Thanks to LadyIrina for gifting us the beauty that is Mandorin!  
> I hope to make this a five chapter mini story, please review!


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